Back in Seoul

We left the fish in the rivers

Left the mountains and the blue sky

And went back to the busy city of Seoul.

The sky is white with smog

The air seems heavy to breathe.

A businessman held the hand of a prostitute

And hurried her into his love hotel

As if afraid to be seen

Or afraid that she will change her mind

She looked like a small porcelain doll

All made up and dressed in pink

Her hair in braids

Like a lost little girl

With no facial expressions.

I thought we booked a boutique hotel

With stylish rooms 

In Insadong,

But it turned out to be a love hotel.

I did not sleep well 

I thought about her...

Her lack of facial expressions

Her pink girly look...

Her body might be in his bed

But her soul was not there.

Maybe she lived once in a village

Maybe she was happy then...

Maybe she left her heart

With the fish in the mountains....

Did she think she would be happy in the city?

Following horny drunken men into love hotels?...

I once heard a Russian prostitute say:

"A full bank account, 

Is better than an empty bank account!"

You cannot argue with this logic....

But money cannot buy you a blue sky

And clean air

And the peace of a simple day,

Watching the fish in the river....

The prettiest thing I saw in Seoul,

Was some flowering art,

And a flowering Pizza 

At "Flora" restaurant in Samcheong Dong

Thank you Korea

For our lovely trip

I will remember you fondly 

Your high cliff-top Zen monasteries

Your beautiful mountains

Your villages and farms

Thanks for the friendly people we've met

And for the best Kumquats I ever ate...